THE TALLY STICK by Carl Nixon

 

Lost in the wilderness: subjugation, survival, and the meaning of family

Up on the highway, the only evidence that the Chamberlains had ever been there was two smeared tire tracks in the mud leading into an almost undamaged screen of bushes and trees. No other cars passed that way until after dawn. By that time the tracks had been washed away by the heavy rain. After being in New Zealand for only five days, the English Chamberlain family had vanished into thin air. The date was 4 April 1978. In 2010 the remains of the eldest child are discovered in a remote part of the West Coast, showing he lived for four years after the family disappeared. Found alongside him are his father’s watch and what turns out to be a tally stick, a piece of scored wood marking items of debt. How had he survived and then died in such a way? Where is the rest of the family? And what is the meaning of the tally stick?

MY THOUGHTS

On April 4th 1978 the Chamberlain  family disappeared. Vanished into thin air. They were headed to a new home in New Zealand where their father was to start a new job. 

Told from two time periods, 1978 and 1910. From the children's prospective and from their Aunts. Very well written. The descriptions leave you picturing it all. You will feel yourself falling into the waters as this family did. You will feel all the emotions that are going on. It's a very well developed story. 

This is a very deep book. Filled with a lot of beautiful descriptions. A lot of sadness also. It explains in detail what happened to this family. It explains what happened to the three remaining children. What became of them. You won't be left hanging. Any question you may have will be answered. To me it is a very sad story but also filled with hope. It has a few, very few, funny parts. Overall it's absolutely a wonderful, yet sensitive, story of three children just surviving. One who wants desperately to get back home. He only wants to see him house again. 

When the Chamberlain family started out it was pouring rain. Of course the father would not listen to his wife about getting a room for the night and possibly doing a bit of sightseeing the next day. He was in a hurry. If only... What happens next will leave you turning the pages to find out exactly what happened to this family. What happened to the children. Where the boy's body came into play all those years later. Julia's sister, Suzanne, did not give up easy. She searched for a while for clues to what happened to her sister and her family. After many dead ends though she had to admit that all was lost. They were gone. Forever. She had to move on and live her life. But she never forgot. It was her sister after all. 

Many years later when Suzanne gets the phone call about bones being found she at least gets a little positive closure. The oldest boy, Maurice, was found at the bottom of a cliff. I found that quite ironic considering how they ended up in the first place. Also quite sad. While reading of his plight to freedom I have to admit to shedding a lot of tears. What this young man went through was truly horrible. What him and his siblings went through was horrible. But they did have a roof over their heads and food to eat. That much was good. The rest was just sad. 

When you reach the end of this very compelling story you will be in awe of Katherine. At least I was. I felt for her too. She was the sister of Maurice. They also had a smaller brother, Tommy. These three children will pull at your heartstrings. Many times. I felt for Maurice so so much. He knew they were being lied too. He knew. But what could he do? And what eventually became of these children? You read early on what happened to Maurice but what of Kathrine and Tommy? What became of them? Did they survive and if so how. Three children left after a horrendous wreck that took away their parents and baby sister. What became of them?

Thank you to #NetGalley, #CarlNixon, #WorldEditions for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.

5/5 HUGE stars. I highly recommend this one. Just be prepared. It's quite the ride and quite sad. A bit dark in places and a whole lot going on.